Roasted Carrots and Potatoes

Sometimes I forget how freaking delicious simple roasted vegetables are.  On Sunday I finally got my act in gear and made something.  Granted, it was just roasted potatoes and carrots, but hey, there was peeling involved!  This recipe is from Jamie's Food Revolution, just minus the parsnips, and with his directions, it creates beautifully caramelized carrots and crispy-exterior potatoes with ultra-creamy insides.  It just doesn't really get any better.



Ingredients for Roasted Carrots and Potatoes, adapted from Jamie's Food Revolution:

-6 carrots, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise if large
-2 1/2 pounds of potatoes, peeled and sliced and quarters if larger than 2 1/2-3 inches in diameter
-1 head of garlic, separated, but not peeled
-3 sprigs of rosemary, separate the leaves and discard the stem
-Olive oil
-Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil while prepping your vegetables.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Once water is at a boil, place both potatoes and carrots in the water and bring back up to a boil.  Boil for five minutes, then strain vegetables through a colander.  Remove just the carrots from the colander and allow to steam-dry.  With the potatoes still in the colander, bounce them up and down to roughen the edges a bit to create crispy bits while they roast in the oven.

While you are straining your vegetables, drop a few generous glugs of olive oil on your baking sheet and place in the oven for a minute or two to warm it up.  Take the oiled baking sheet out of the oven, and toss the garlic and rosemary leaves in the olive oil.  It should be very fragrant.  Then add the potatoes and carrots and coat well.  Salt and pepper generously.  Spread the vegetables out well, so none are on top of each other.  You don't want to steam cook them!  Place in the oven untouched for 1 hour, until everything is soft and caramelized.  Absolutely delicious!

Click here for a chocolate meringue recipe that I tried.  So pretty and sweet.